Bunny Hopping

aba2005

I'm trying to teach myself to bunny hop.

I've been using these three links: Webmountainbike, Ehow, and Wikihow

are these comprehensive, or is there anything else I need to know?

Or is there some FALSE info in any of the links :?:

Thanks for your help.

Aba!

dunnnooo

I will say two things and two things only;

1) Learn on flat pedals; spds make you lazy, like learning on a full susser.

2) Leave logs well alone until you've got it worked out.

supersonic

Yep, flats, wehigt shifting and confidence. And repeat.

WillGTJumper

it may feel your not getting any where, but keep practising and you will get it (i learnt to bunnyhop around Easter, it was tedious)

Scubar

Heres another link to some more info and a small video http://ibikeride.com/content/view/14/44/ its pretty easy once you got the hang of it.

Rigid Raider

Think like a bunny - eat grass and shag a lot.

Who me

.....and eat your own......?

DomA

http://www.bmxbasics.org/new/bmx0703.html

Dom

aba2005

Thanks for all the tips.

aba2005

To all of you that can bunny hop on a mountain bike, do you lift the whole bike almost at the same, or do you do it the BMX way where the front seems to come up way before the back?

Scubar

The correct way is to lift the front wheel first and then the rear, If you are lifting both at the same time your doing it wrong (most likely caused by using SPDs)

aba2005

Not using SPD's. I am lifting the front first but only slightly before the rear. My hamstrings need strengthening to keep the rear up.

ANDE.B

Its just logical to lift the front before the rear, as then you can get over obstacled (like logs on the trails) at lower speeds...

Just push your weight back onto the rear wheel (using your body weight mostly, NOT your arms to lift the front wheel) then just spring with your legs and push all your body weight upwards...

Try a few endo's, track-stands, wheelys etc to get comfortable with shifting your weight around the bike...

4NGU5

yeh i do front them back
i used to do both at the same time but then i realised i wasn't getting any higher so i changed my method 8)

tom_j

I am also just trying to learn how to do this - only have flat pedals so at least when i get it cracked i'll have mastered it properly, very frustrating at the moment tho, just keep wrenching up the handlebars and the back wheel is stuck on the ground!!

Docgeoffyjones

If you want to improve rear wheel lift work on rotating your feet downwards slighty on the pedal as you jump. this will help you tuck up the rear wheel.
Also try practising rear wheel lifts without using the front brake. I.e throw your weight forward and point your feet downwards slightly to bring up the rear. It does'nt have to be very high.
Its not wrong to jump both wheels level this is a good technique for small objects such as Kerbs and going light on rough trail sections.

Just remember push down on the bike to get extra lift at the start of your jump.

bpb@wwr.co.uk

see if you can get an old copy off mbuk of a mate of something. i learnt to bunny hop by learning to get the back wheel of the ground without using my brakes then once you can do this pull the front wheel up aand do the tecnique for getting the rear end of the ground.

dav1

Luckily I learned to do this a a kid in the park whilst trying to show off with all my mates.

I recently decided there was room for improvement so now on the way to work i try to hop over drains and up kerbs (as well as practicing as many other skills as I can en route)

I find that the small stuff like drains works nicely, if you mess it up and land on the drain you wont get hurt (as long as it is dry, wet drains are like wet roots, a fall waiting to happen unless you hit them right). If that is working out ok then a curb makes a good next step. Make sure you all this on an empty road though, last thing you want is to fall in front of a car.

BikerDan

Get the MBUK Essential techniques DVD. It was in the last issue. Doddy shows you how to bunnyhop very well. Now gettin over those annoying rat-sized dogs is a piece of cake!!

liquidstate

I'll second the recommendation of Doddy's teachings, I could already bunnyhop, but watched it to see how i could improve. His is one of the best explanations I've seen or read.

I use the "bronco" technique to hop, as this lets you get the front wheel right over the obstacle before the rear even leaves the ground. It also gives two "explosions" of upwards motion, which add if your front is still rising when the rear is pulled up with your legs, so you can get higher.

as for those guides, don't try to jump over anything until you know you can clean it every time. learn to lift the rear with no brakes first, a route of learning front lifts first is more likely to fail in my opinion. the motion of rotating your feet and pulling back/up may sound wierd, but it becomes natural after a while, once you start lifting the rear you'll start to understand the full motion, not just yanking on the bars. Its best to learn on a hardtail with flat pedals and reasonably strong wheels (or some you don't mind breaking), bad landings can do a lot of damage.

nicklouse

http://www.bmxbasics.org/new/bmx0703.html

The monster bunnyhop article!.

masondasyk

the fing is tht u have to lift the front and then shift your weight forward whilst pushing back on both pedals which are level to each other,. good luck

Ciaran500

Watched a load of bunny hop videos last night and even tracked down the MBUK dvd last night and got up this morning intent on learning it.

I had partial success I can lift the rear wheel off the ground and make a small hop but only when lifting the front and rear at the same time. I just couldn't lift the front wheel then pull up the back, it'll come with time hopefully.

saracen blitz chris

it will indeed! That was like me when i first learnt, i can now hop easily over the biggest of kerbs!

Ciaran500

Getting better now, jumps getting higher but still not getting front end up early enough

Biggest problem I have now is the sense of timing is completely off. This is too much like hard work